The global lubricants company
Castrol has introduced SmartCoolant, a new system that enables the real-time condition monitoring of coolants and the automation of their management. Indeed, SmartCoolant automatically monitors and refills coolant systems, stabilising key coolant parameters such as concentration, pH level, temperature, and conductivity.
Castrol said: “Automating fluid management enables operators to enhance process transparency and reduce operational costs. In addition, SmartCoolant provides reliable lab-quality readings direct to operators in seconds, significantly reducing the traditional monitoring period.
“Early customer feedback indicates that SmartCoolant has the potential to reduce operational demands and improve efficiency across several key areas; and while the scale of benefits will vary depending on individual operations, some customers anticipate that process optimisation will enable them to achieve a return on investment within a relatively short timeframe.”
Cassandra Higham, Castrol’s industrial director, added: “European manufacturers are facing labour shortages, cost pressures, and increased administrative and environmental requirements. Intelligent technologies that can automate vital processes and optimise production, such as Castrol SmartCoolant, can reduce cost and free up valuable resources.
“This system combines advanced lubricants and expert services with smart technologies to transform lubrication management into an intelligent system that allows manufacturers to take advantage of Industry 4.0 by enabling the transition to automated, data-driven and proactive coolant management. The solution gives operators access to coolant data through an online portal, opening opportunities to scale quality standards across multiple sites.
“Moreover, SmartCoolant devices can support a range of plant layouts, be connected to a central system or multiple standalone machines, while accommodating mineral oil, ester-based and synthetic-based water-miscible coolants.”